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Glendale store accused of $2.3 million food-stamp fraud

Two Glendale store owners were accused of participating in a multimillion dollar food-stamp fraud scheme that investigators claim is one of the largest cases in Arizona history, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Glendale store accused of $2.3 million food-stamp fraud

The owners of the Nicben African Caribbean Market Plus may face charges including fraud, money laundering and computer tampering, according to Clarence Carter of the Arizona Dept. of Economic Security.

A Glendale market is accused of conducting the largest food-stamp fraud in Arizona history.(Photo: Republic file photo)

State and federal officials are alleging that they uncovered the biggest case of food-stamp fraud in state history at a Glendale market they say bilked the federal government out of $2.3 million.

Authorities raided the Nicben African Caribbean Market Plus on Wednesday morning, locking down the south Glendale store, seizing the owners' four vehicles and searching the premises for cash and bank records.

The case against the owners, Bernard and Monica Le-Uh, will be referred to a state grand jury in the coming months, said Marcus Hambrick, head of the newly created Office of the Inspector General at the state Department of Economic Security.

The market's owners did not return a call seeking comment.

Clarence Carter, DES director, said the estimated $2.3 million in misused food-stamp dollars is more than three times the previous highest amount.

"This clearly was a criminal enterprise," Carter said. "The approach the retailer took here was to confine this to their community, to people they could identify with. It was an intentional inside-baseball approach."

Because of the close-knit group of people investigators believe were involved in the fraud, it took three years to build a case leading to Wednesday's raid, Hambrick said.

The probe began when food-stamp administrators realized the same electronic-benefit card was used in Arizona and another state on the same day. He declined to name the other state, suggesting it could imperil other investigations.

In addition to the market owners, investigators will be talking to 33 food-stamp recipients who may have engaged in fraud, DES officials said.

Carter said the scheme involved store owners offering cash to customers in exchange for access to their electronic-benefit cards. The cards contain the amount of food-stamp benefits an individual is entitled to.

Wednesday's raid drew a crowd from surrounding neighborhoods.

The food-stamp program runs entirely on federal dollars through the Supplemental Food Assistance Program, but is jointly administered with the state.

Arizona, like other states, has seen a drop in federal dollars for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program since the end of stimulus dollars last November. Congress has not renewed those levels.